Robert Joiner's journalism experience includes working at the St. Louis American and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, where he was a beat reporter, wire editor, editorial writer, columnist and member of the Washington bureau.

At the Beacon, he has carved a niche in providing informed health reporting that includes winning a Dennis A. Hunt Journalism Award for the "Worlds Apart" series on health-care disparities.

Funding for the Beacon's health reporting is provided in part by the Missouri Foundation for Health, a philanthropic organization that aims to improve the health of the people in the communities it serves.

Most people probably looked out the window Saturday morning, saw the snow and ice, and decided to stay indoors. But the morning was one of exercise as usual for a small group on a mission to tackle obesity among black women.

Deaths from heart disease declined more than 20 percent across the city, county and state for both African Americans and whites from 2000-2010. That's just one of the findings in the last brief of a year-long look at the education, economic and health status of blacks in St. Louis city and St. Louis County.

During his relatively brief period in the White House, President John F. Kennedy became a symbol of hope, daring Americans to dream of changing the world for the better through his Peace Corps and domestic programs.

On this week's Beacon Roundtable, Dale Singer sits down with Beacon Editor Margaret Wolf Freivogel, Robert Joiner and Jason Rosenbaum to talk about the planned merger between the Beacon and St. Louis Public radio, the new organization promoting a discussion of potentially merging the City of St. Louis and St. Louis County, and the anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s assassination.

The first month of the sign-up period for the health insurance marketplace produced more bad news than good, with consumers seeking to apply for insurarnce coverage and subsidies being frustrated with a flawed web portal. All the problems still haven't been solved. Even so, a survey by the Commonwealth Fund suggests that people haven't given up on applying for and getting enrolled before the March 31 deadline.

On this week's Beacon Roundtable, Dale Singer sits down with Bram Sable-Smith and Robert Joiner to talk about the Normandy and Ferguson Florissant school districts in St. Louis as well as new developments in Obamacare that may allow people to keep the insurance they have — at least for a while.

As the Affordable Care Act limped through Congress, President Barack Obama tried to ease consumer concerns about the law by saying people who liked their existing health insurance policies could keep them. But that turns out to be untrue, s insurers began to cancel those old policies. The U.S. House is expected to take up the matter on Friday.

On this week's Beacon Roundtable, Dale Singer sits down with Nancy Fowler, Robert Joiner and Mary Delach Leonard to talk about ConnectCare’s closing, gay marriage in Illinois and the economic effect of when you were born.

St. Louis is among the top 10 most segregated cities in the country. This topic is the subject of the fourth in a series of briefs on the status of African Americans in St. Louis. The brief focuses on the ways segregation harms both health and economic opportunity.

Last summer, ConnectCare announced it would shut down all of its special care services. On Friday, it reportedly told workers that all health services would end, leaving a large hole in the regional's health safety net for the poor.

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Chris Nicastro, Missouri's education commissioner, also talked about student transfers, the public schools in Kansas City and “more conversation about quality education than I have seen in my entire career.”

Meeting in St. Louis next week, the Leadership Conference of Women Religious will have its first opportunity as an assembled group to consider what to do after the Vatican issued a mandate for change this spring. It calls on the conference to reorganize and more strictly observe church teachings.

When a family of four goes to the St. Louis Zoo, they can be forgiven for not knowing it will cost them $60, $72 if they park. If they can't pay, the alternative is to tell the kids they can't do what kids do at the zoo.

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The Missouri Chamber, which publicly has blasted the Affordable Care Act, is now reaffirming its support for Medicaid expansion by citing a new national study that shows Missouri among the states losing the most federal aid by failing to participate.

The Missouri House easily passed legislation aimed at attracting production of the 777x, a move that wraps up a legislative special session that saw little suspense and few surprises. The bill now goes to Gov. Jay Nixon, who has strongly supported the legislation.

Nelson Mandela, who died Thursday at the age of 95, was a towering moral figure of the 20th century -- along with Mahatma Gandhi. It was no coincidence that Gandhi and Mandela, whose paths never crossed directly, both embarked on their campaigns against discrimination in South Africa. It was when Mandela won election as South Africa’s first black president that Gandhi's influence became apparent.

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One night, the violinist is taking bows before a standing ovation at Jazz at the Bistro. The next afternoon, some of her audience may have trouble standing, but the kids in the playroom at Children's Hospital were no less appreciative. “Jazz is medicine personified," according to a doctor who brings in the jazz musicians.

If you wanted to take a real-time snapshot of the St. Louis art community, who or what would you feature? The Luminary Center of the Arts focused its attention on four specific local artists in a series called “We Are.”

For years , the author was certain he would never come to appreciate The Grateful Dead, let alone be a Deadhead. But little by little, he's come around. He talks about his conversion and relates a real evolution: by a musician who went on to play with the Schwag, a Dead cover band.

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The attorney has founded Arch Grants, which brings together nonprofit philanthropy and commercially viable opportunitiesto fund new business startups, and Mentor St. Louis, which finds adult mentors for elementary students in the St. Louis Public School System. He was the driving force behind the state's historic tax credit program.

BioSTL's BioGenerator organization is on the move as its entrepreneurs-in-residence find a new home in 4,300 square feet of office and conference space in an old automobile factory. The blossoming program, which helps BioGenerator's portfolio companies to get off the ground, continues to pay dividends within the growing biotech community.

The St. Louis Mosaic Project is set to hold an orientation for its new ambassadors -- dozens of foreign and native-born volunteers who aim to help make the community a more welcoming place for those from other nations. Participants will be expected to do everything from visiting local restaurants serving international cuisine to having dinner with an immigrant to the area.

Innovation and entrepreneurial activity are on the rise in St. Louis, especially in bioscience, technology and alternative energy. The Beacon's InnovationSTL section focuses on the people who are part of this wave, what they're doing and how this is shaping our future. To many St. Louisans, this wave is not yet visible. InnovationSTL aims to change that. We welcome you to share your knowledge, learn more about this vibrant trend and discuss its impact.

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The Missouri Chamber, which publicly has blasted the Affordable Care Act, is now reaffirming its support for Medicaid expansion by citing a new national study that shows Missouri among the states losing the most federal aid by failing to participate.

One night, the violinist is taking bows before a standing ovation at Jazz at the Bistro. The next afternoon, some of her audience may have trouble standing, but the kids in the playroom at Children's Hospital were no less appreciative. “Jazz is medicine personified," according to a doctor who brings in the jazz musicians.

Most people probably looked out the window Saturday morning, saw the snow and ice, and decided to stay indoors. But the morning was one of exercise as usual for a small group on a mission to tackle obesity among black women.

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Bureaucracies frequently exhibit turf rivalry; they do not play well with others. The different contractors also did not get along and the HHS staff didn’t get along with the contractors. There was no overall czar to prioritize and force the parts to mesh.

We're only moving next door, yet the Beacon's merger with St. Louis Public Radio is a big step. More important than the logistical and technical challenges, all of us will need to learn new ways to think about how our work can meet your needs.

Criticizing trickle-down economics is not Marxism. And greed may be good on Wall Street, but that’s not the central message of the Sermon on the Mount. The melting of floating ice does not raise ocean levels. The name Better Together does telegraph a conclusion.

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